After an injury, a medical procedure, or resultant to the effects of age or obesity, or for other reasons, a person may experience difficulty performing everyday tasks due to limited or reduced mobility. Those with reduced mobility often must compensate for a reduced range of motion by learning to perform everyday tasks in a new way. For example, the once simple task of putting on and fastening shoes can become difficult or impossible for some.
A common tool used by those with limited mobility is a dressing stick. Dressing sticks take many forms, but are typically a stick having a hooked end. A person uses the dressing stick by gripping the stick and using the hook to reach and manipulate objects. Such a tool can be useful for grabbing and moving objects, and helping don articles of clothing, but often proves inadequate for putting on and fastening shoes due to the difficulty in manipulating the shoe and/or laces with the hook.